Looking to end a four-game losing streak, the Chicago Blackhawks returned to the United Center on Thursday night to host the Anaheim Ducks. The game featured the first matchup in the NHL between the top two picks of the 2023 Entry Draft, Connor Bedard and Leo Carlsson. The Hawks handed the goaltending duties back to Petr Mrazek after Arvid Soderblom’s 27-save performance on Tuesday night in a 4–3 shootout loss at home to the Nashville Predators. The Ducks started rookie Lukas Dostal, who was named NHL Rookie of the Month back in October.
A scoreless first period was literally a tale of two halves. The first half of the frame saw the Ducks control the play and take advantage of some poor defensive coverage by the Hawks, however, Mrazek stopped every shot he faced. The second half of the period saw the Hawks start to get their legs underneath them and generate some zone time, which helped generate two power play chances. For the Hawks, their best line of the first period was Cole Guttman centering Tyler Johnson and Taylor Raddysh. Guttman used his speed to enter the zone cleanly, which turned into scoring opportunities.
It took nearly half the game until a goal was scored and it was Philipp Kurashev who registered his fifth of the season on the power play. Tyler Johnson won a board battle against two Anaheim defenders then went cross-ice to Bedard, who juggled the puck but managed to feed Kurashev, who fired a one-timer from the slot to give the Hawks a 1–0 lead at 9:21 of the second.
THERE IT IS pic.twitter.com/G4lMkJCwbw
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The Hawks took the 1–0 lead in the locker room after 40 minutes. While the Hawks had the lead, Mrazek was far and away the best player on the ice during the middle period, stopping all 16 shots he faced, many of which were high-quality chances.
The third period began with the Ducks on the power play, which the Hawks would kill. However, the entire third period felt like the Hawks were on a 20-minute penalty kill, as the Ducks poured it on and Mrazek stopped every shot he faced in the third and 37 for the game to give the Hawks a 1–0 win and put a stop to their four-game skid.
Analysis
This was your classic “goalie win,” with Mrazek making several huge saves with the Ducks spending most of the game in the Hawks’ zone. While the Hawks gave up a lot of scoring chances and were outshot 37–25, Louis Crevier, playing in just his second NHL game, played a solid and simple all-around game. He was positionally sound in the defensive zone and played with a lot of poise and confidence. The one blip on the radar for Crevier was getting caught flat-footed in the middle of the ice, leading to an Anaheim rush, but Alex Vlasic hustled down the ice and bailed Crevier out even though he was called for a very questionable penalty.
The Hawks return to home ice on Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CST on NBCSCH with the radio call on 720 WGN.